Steaming and Boiling

I nearly always steam vegetables in preference to boiling, except for very quick-cooking vegetables like mange tout, which should be cooked for only a minute or two in a large pan of salted, rapidly boiling water, and leaves for blanching such as spinach and lettuce where boiling is more successful. I find that steaming keeps in more flavour, particularly with root vegetables, and produces less waterlogged results. A wide range of steamers is available and if you steam regularly and in large quantities buy a two-tiered steamer.